The Freakshow Kids on the Block
by WarioMan3K
Summary: My collaboration fic with JapanAnimeGirl, an online friend of mine who's on DeviantART like me. Being part of my Game-Jumping Adventures series timeline, the story shows how 9-Volt came to know Patricia, the Mistress of Bouncing Balls (pictured in the cover image, used with permission) along with the rest of the Lower Birth...and how he helped turn them good with Keyla's guidance.
1. First encounter

In one of my DeviantART journals, I discussed my plans of doing two collaboration fics with my online friends, both of which I intend to make as part of my Game-Jumping Adventures series timeline. One of them, which you're looking at right now, is being done alongside JapanAnimeGirl. Now that I did the first and third parts while she wrote the second, not to mention the fact that we reviewed each and everyone of them to make sure they flow the story well, I'll be able to put them to good use here. Fortunately, I had permission to modify her second part of our fic to make sure it's virtually error-free. But without further ado, enjoy the first part of the story on how 9-Volt came to know Keyla, Vampire Princess of Roseland - and how they both met and befriended Patricia, Mistress of Bouncing Balls!

**DISCLAIMER: WarioWare Inc. and Kid Icarus are properties of Nintendo; Contra is owned by Konami; Final Fantasy belongs to Square-Enix. Whereas I own my WarioWare fan character Phoebe, JapanAnimeGirl owns Keyla and her fellow vampires of Roseland, as well as the Lower Birth (let alone Patricia).**

* * *

-The Freakshow Kids on the Block-

Part 1: First encounter

[Opening BGM: Outset Island (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker)]

October 4, 20XX...

Before the young Mistress of Bouncing Balls warmed up to 9-Volt and became his guardian angel...Before there existed a place called Electric Ball Castle...and before they along with Keyla became the Best Bouncing Ball Buddies...

Their first meeting _wasn't_ exactly on friendly terms.

But prior to that time, 9-Volt and Keyla spent one night at his house thinking back to the day he met and befriended the little Vampire Princess of Roseland. A while back in late July during 9-Volt's summer vacation in Roseland with his mom, when he first met Keyla, he was resting in his bed while she was hanging from the ceiling above him. When he woke up, he was shocked by her sudden appearance, but she was very friendly. She hopped down from the ceiling and sat next to him on the bed.

_Hi! I'm Keyla, a 5-year-old Vampire Princess!_

Despite being 5 years old, she was about 9-Volt's height. She introduced him and his mom to all the other vampires of Roseland, where she was born in. It was quite a long introduction, but 9-Volt do recalled a couple of them as he and Keyla reminisced...like Xizor, and Anthony, her older brother. On top of that, she did seem different from an ordinary vampire due to her immunity to a vampire's weaknesses against garlic, water, sunlight, and silver objects. It was rather unusual, but mostly because she has werewolf genes.

Speaking of werewolf genes, she was bitten by a werewolf back when she was two or something. Aside from all that, she was once human before she became a vampire. She had a rough life...and upon learning this fact, 9-Volt felt bad for her. It was then that he knew why she's got a cheerful personality: so that she wouldn't feel so sad all the time, given her past lifetime she had. They eventually became best friends, and of course Phoebe didn't mind meeting a Vampire Princess who had no intentions of harming 9-Volt at all. Then again, there were stories about how vampires drink people's blood to survive...

On the other hand, it was quite ironic that a vampire like Keyla likes drinking fruit juice instead of blood. But, 9-Volt guessed that's in her nature since she's half-werewolf. Also, she loves flying, swimming, sunlight, school, drawing and coloring, making friends, and even bowling! When they first went bowling together, he was amazed by her strength and talent when it came to bowling. Either way, he was glad to know that she's here to help him, just like Phoebe always did, whenever he had trouble with his bowling. He also recalled that she could handle a bowling ball up to a maximum weight of 16 pounds...then again, it had been a few months. What he didn't forget, though, was she once balanced a bowling ball on top of her head with no signs of it feeling heavy. Some say she equips an accessory to enhance her strength...

Aside from her bowling talent, she's stronger than the other vampires of Roseland due to her half-werewolf state. Being a genius, she took pride in her brain powers, but wasn't very good with social graces. Still, she's not afraid to get down and dirty if something threatens her beliefs, let alone her friends. It was then that she became 9-Volt's guardian angel, much to the shared reliefs of Phoebe, Mona and his mother. In fact, she liked being an angel, and magically made a white angel dress with wings for herself to wear. She had plenty of other magical outfits, aside from that and her normal one: there's a bowling outfit she wears to a bowling alley, and also red dress for formal occasions.

Over time, at least before the second half of the Alien Wars (or rather World War III) broke out on Earth, 9-Volt and Keyla have had our adventures together, although not really big ones, but at least they get to hang out with each other. Of course, they did run into occasional troubles, if not entirely life-threatening, but they usually stick together until it blew over. Much later after the heroic Contras and their friends defeated the evil Red Falcon for good, the Roseland vampires came to visit Diamond City and built Keyla a bowling alley right next door to 9-Volt and Phoebe's houses. It was by that time 9-Volt gave Keyla a nickname as the "Bowling Princess." Or maybe he did so long before they asked the vampires to build the bowling alley she coined as the "Bowling Kingdom."

As soon as 9-Volt and Keyla finished their flashback, he went to sleep while she hung from the ceiling upside down to watch over him. But when dawn came, they began hearing unusual noises coming from outside the house. Thus they looked out the window to investigate without waiting for 5-Volt and Phoebe to catch up, but hid themselves when Keyla recognized something scary...

[End BGM]

"What is it, Keyla?" asked 9-Volt.

"...It's _them_," she answered quietly, "the Lower Birth."

Then it hit him, metaphorically speaking: he'd need the help of his _older_ guardian angels (Yuffie Kisaragi, Pit and Phosphora) soon enough, as Keyla was only 5 years old.

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

The circus is in town...but not the kind that anybody would expect in real life.


	2. The Mistress of Bouncing Balls

Here we have part 2 of "The Freakshow Kids on the Block", which is technically in my friend JapanAnimeGirl's own words, but with some modifications I made so we're both satisfied.

**DISCLAIMER: WarioWare Inc. and Kid Icarus are properties of Nintendo; Contra is owned by Konami; Final Fantasy belongs to Square-Enix. Whereas I own my WarioWare fan character Phoebe, JapanAnimeGirl owns Keyla and her fellow vampires of Roseland, as well as the Lower Birth (let alone Patricia).**

* * *

Part 2: The Mistress of Bouncing Balls

Before venturing out to seek assistance from Yuffie, Pit, and Phosphora, Keyla warned 9-Volt.

"This kind of music is played on a rare, demonic instrument called Phantom Bells, which hypnotizes those with pure souls."

This being a problem, 9-Volt quickly came up with a solution: "I can call Phosphora with this Cloud Whistle she gave me and Phoebe can call Pit with the Wing Whistle he gave her. Also, we'll pick up Yuffie on our way. That way, I'll have all my Guardian Angels to keep me safe!"

Keyla hugged 9-Volt, happy for coming up with a grand solution to their problem so quickly, which made the young boy blush. When Phosphora and Pit arrived at 9-Volt's house to see him and Phoebe, the music had faded off in the distance, but Keyla could still faintly hear it with her skilled ears. So, at a safe distance, the group followed what appeared to be a parade of dancing skeletons and seemingly hypnotized little boys and girls right to the Lower Birth grounds, stopping to pick up Yuffie as well.

"Don't worry, 9-Volt. We'll protect you." Phosphora hugged 9-Volt, noticing his wide-eyed terror at the sight of the dancing skeletons.

"She's right. This is nothing but illusions; nothing to be afraid of." Yuffie added.

Here, there were all kinds of colored big tops, which advertised different Freakshow acts with their own music and effects and they were all young children ranging from 5-10 years old! Shape-Shifting Ringleader (Valerie), Animal Trainer (Valyn), Mistress of Lightning and Bouncing Balls (Patricia), Far-Reaching Trapeze Artist (Jaclyn), Two-mouth (John), Flying Girl (Maya), Invisible Boy (Daniel), Telepathic Twins (Ann and Anne), Pyro-kinetic (Violet), Never-Ending Bending Contortionist (Claudia), Fish Woman (Jill), Marionette Master (Paul), Friendship Cannonball (Corey &amp; Austin), Mystifying Magician (Page), and Triple Threat (Vanessa, Franklin, and Francesca.) After the children individually visited each big top there was one left, the largest and most vividly advertised:**"Welcome to The Lower Birth, The Greatest Show On Earth"** was levitated along the top in neon, red letters and this big top was the only one red-and-white stripped!

"This is where those Lower Birth children chased the vampires and I out last time in that battle during the show." Keyla hissed lowly.

Despite her sweet, caring, and kind exterior, Keyla's vampire side's eyes glowed red, her nails sharpened, and fangs elongated when she got angry.

"Let's get decent seats and be careful." Phosphora, holding hands with 9-Volt, Pit and Phoebe to sit next to them, led the way into the main big top.

"Are circuses this scary on Earth, Phoebe?" questioned a concerned Pit. "The way I remember, they're usually all about performers and different kinds of animals like lions, but no creepy stuff like you'd see on Halloween night..."

"Not always," replied Phoebe, "but then again, your girlfriend's got a point."

Keyla grabbed 9-Volt's other hand and Yuffie's, so they wouldn't be separated. Surprisingly, the Freakshows from the other big tops were all in this act, paired or otherwise, showing off how powerful they truly were. At the end, Steven or coined "The Darkness's Child", Keyla whispered, "Brace yourselves!"

As Steven sings "Such Horrible Things" by Creature Feature and performs wild dance moves to the audience's delight, which was strange, considering the song lyrics were quite morbid, Valerie pointed her baton into the crowd! Pink and purple, shimmering, bubble-like objects zoomed out of it and, passing though the children, stole their souls, making them collapse to the ground! Luckily, 9-Volt didn't see this because Keyla had forced them all to slip out the back of the main big top, but this didn't work well as an escape plan when the group found themselves facing the rest of the Lower Birth! However, these children looked just as shocked as 9-Volt, Phoebe, Keyla, Yuffie, Phosphora and Pit, even a little bright blond haired girl with blue eyes whimpered in a corner upon seeing them. However, 9-Volt's eyes were fixed on another blonde girl, although her hair was paler, her blue eyes were darker, and she didn't look the least bit surprised to see him and his friend, in fact she looked furious and she was walking right towards them!

"What are YOU doing back here? It's performers ONLY!" This girl asked coldly.

"Saving my life and my friends! Out of our way, Patricia!" Apparently, Keyla knew this girl's name well enough to remember it.

"Oh? You're...Keyla, right? I remember you too from our fight with your little bat friends before. Didn't you enjoy the show?" Patricia taunted.

"Yeah, until you started killing everyone!" Phosphora yelled.

"WE didn't kill anyone, never did. That was all Valerie's plan, it's to help Steven." Two-Mouth, whose real name is John, spoke up in a carefree voice, which made him sound almost...nice.

Was it possible these children were nicer than they appeared? Remembering what Keyla had told 9-Volt, "Not all vampires are evil", 9-Volt mustered up all his courage to answer Patricia's questions about him, his friends, where they were from, and what they were doing here with complete honesty. Patricia's hard expression changed to one of astonishment as she couldn't detect any ulterior motives under 9-Volt's answers; he was the 1st person, besides the Lower Birth, to be completely honest with her and that had never been the case before!

"St-Stop lying to me!" Patricia simply, flat-out refused to believe 9-Volt was telling the truth, although she could sense it.

"Patricia..." Although knowing this could cost him his life, he wrapped an arm around the young girl's shoulders, allowing her to cry as long as she liked.

Around them, the Lower Birth's faces broke into relieved smiles. Patricia hadn't cried in years and hiding her tears all those years spilled out now and 9-Volt got Patricia to tell him about her past, which revealed some of Valerie and Valyn's too and how they were only committing crimes to survive. Although, 9-Volt and his friends couldn't do anything for the children, who had their souls stolen, they all decided to help the Lower Birth, Valerie and Steven included, but...starting with Patricia!

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

The first two parts may have been short, I'll admit, but the third one will be quite long. Stay tuned!


	3. The rocky path with bouncy rewards

With the situation resolved, our young hero starts his friendship with Patricia, but it will not be an easy task given her bad past...Of course, who said anything about doing it all by himself? ;)

**DISCLAIMER: WarioWare Inc. and Kid Icarus are properties of Nintendo; Contra is owned by Konami; Final Fantasy belongs to Square-Enix. Bomberman is a property of Hudson Soft despite Konami having absorbed said company unto itself back in March 2012. Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi belongs to Renegade Animation. Whereas I own my fan characters Phoebe, Blaze Bomber and Arctic Bomber (in addition to the made-up Diamond City locale, Diamond Arcade World), JapanAnimeGirl owns Keyla and her fellow vampires of Roseland, as well as the Lower Birth (let alone Patricia). Princess Cherry, although briefly mentioned, belongs to my other friend LovelyTekki (aka. Princesstekki, also on DeviantART).**

* * *

Part 3: The rocky path with bouncy rewards

[Redemption BGM: The Enigmansion (Paper Mario: Sticker Star)]

Strange, weird, and different are what Patricia, the Mistress of Bouncing Balls, called herself - not to mention special. 9-Volt's first meeting with her and the other Lower Birth kids at the soul-stealing performance was not on friendly terms due to their hostility towards the normal humans. As much as he didn't feel comfortable learning, Patricia and her friends used to live in a distant village until they were chased out because of their unusual powers. It was not easy because of the past misdeeds they've committed under the command of their ringmaster Valerie, but with help from his guardian angels, let alone Keyla, 9-Volt was able to begin turning them all around, starting with Patricia. As soon as Valerie reluctantly reversed her soul-stealing act, 9-Volt figured perhaps he and his guardian angels could also help change the circus around too: no more scares. Safer acts. Different songs. Even allow adults...

"Patricia has been abused by her townspeople, she didn't mean to be nasty," admitted Maya. "We're not easily trusting of others for that reason. Is 9-Volt really his name? That's cute and interesting."

"Mm-hmm," answered Phoebe. "I hope he knows what he's doing..."

"Iwannameethimtoo! (I wanna meet him too!)" babbled the Trapeze Artist, Jaclyn.

"Wh-huh?" asked a befuddled Pit.

"Oops! Sorry, I easily get excited and tend to talk really fast. I'm just happy he turned Patricia around."

"Are you sure? Because it looks like it's getting off to a rocky start..." wondered Phosphora, glancing over to 9-Volt and Keyla standing next to Patricia.

"I still don't trust any of you THAT much," the Mistress of Bouncing Balls said coldly.

"Keyla, you gotta help me," sighed 9-Volt. "I dunno how I can get Patricia to trust us. Maybe I'm better off sticking with you and Phoebe until then. I mean, like you said, the Freakshow kids have been through a lot in their lives..."

"Hmm...let me try." The Vampire/Bowling Princess turned over to the 8-year-old performer. "Patricia, what do you like to do?"

The blonde girl tried to talk nicely, though from what 9-Volt could tell wasn't easy given her bad past and the fact that he had just started turning her around. "I like...balls."

"If you come with us, I can show you where you can get the biggest, shiniest, bounciest balls ever!"

That statement caused Patricia to ease up on her hostility. "Really?"

"You bet!" Keyla flashed a friendly wink.

"Well, okay, if you say so..."

_Whew, that worked well,_ thought 9-Volt. _I wonder where it is?_

Keyla read his mind and answered, "I simply meant a toy store. I've seen huge bouncing balls there before, each as big as a bowling ball!"

Later on, 9-Volt and his friends went with the Lower Birth to a toy store and let them pick out whatever toys they wanted and Keyla paid for them with her Roseland currency, consisting of Gold Sun and Silver Moon coins. "I didn't know Roseland used those kinds of coins," noted Yuffie.

"Me neither, until we saw Keyla use them to pay for the toys," added 9-Volt.

"These big balls look lovely! Let's go check out the aisle over there." Then Keyla turned her attention towards her human best friend. "Usually I can't use Vampire currency, but no one can resist a cute girl."

"I can have ANY of these balls I like?" asked Patricia.

"Sure! Take your picks; I'll pay for however many you want."

Patricia's eyes widened in surprise and her mouth opened slightly; no one had ever been this nice to her before, but then again 9-Volt had to get help somehow if he expected to completely turn her good in the long run. "C'mon, 9-Volt, let's you and me check out the balls while Keyla takes care of the payment. My favorite colors are pink, blue, yellow, orange aaand...black." She picked up the balls with those colors she listed just now.

"We're gonna have lots of fun with your brand-new bouncy balls!" 9-Volt whooped. "I can use some empty plastic bottles back at home, to teach you about bowling! With Phoebe's help, I mean."

"That sounds...fun." The girl genuinely smiled for the first time in four years.

"Friends?" 9-Volt offered a hug, but decided to hold back on it for now.

"You bet: Friends...and I'm sorry for griping on you earlier. It's just that...well, like I said, I came from a village that was burned down by these people who wanted me and my friends out just because of our unusual powers." Patricia showed 9-Volt a locket with a picture of her parents and a small little girl with blonde hair.

[End BGM]

"Is that...you in the picture?" wondered 9-Volt.

"Yes. My parents and neighbors died in the fire...I was 3 years old that time, and how old were you when your dad died five years ago as the Alien Wars broke out in Diamond City?"

"I was four. He gave his life as a police officer to protect my mom while Mona kept me safe from Red Falcon's hordes of alien invaders. Then Bill Rizer, Lance Bean, Pit and Phosphora showed up to help save me from the then-bad Bomber-girl Arctic Bomber, who by the way reformed herself and helped my friends put an end to World War III today. And defeat that giant skeleton dragon-like alien monster we did. All may have seemed well for our planet Earth now, but...I miss my dad everyday. My mom works hard to support her family, as I am all she's got."

"So that's why you have your guardian angels to protect you..."

"Mm-hmm. Anyway, you sure love bouncy balls, don't you, Patricia?"

"Of course I do, silly. Watch this..." The Mistress of Bouncing Balls jumped and stood tall, balancing on top of the pink ball. Sparks of electricity emitted from her fingers as she used it to control the other balls to move around her, even in mid-air. Patricia wasn't aware her "talent" was attracting a lot of attention, much less Phoebe and the others, until someone hit her in the side of the head with a rotten tomato. Patricia tumbled to the ground and lost control of all the balls; one by one did they bounce off her head. 9-Volt scrambled to catch her as she broke her fall by landing on his back.

"Ha! What a rotten act, eh?" mocked a balding, middle-aged man.

"So, you think throwing rotten vegetables at an innocent girl is funny, huh?" sobbed Patricia, whose tears slowly gave way to an insane smile that 9-Volt, Phoebe and Keyla realized with alarm. "9-Volt...get behind me."

"Um...okay..." The boy did as he was told, resulting in a quick kiss to the cheek, albeit _colder_ than he expected. Then an excess of built-up electricity and a forceful push was all it took for Patricia to shock the living daylights out of the man! As soon as the commotion cleared, 9-Volt helped roll all five of Patricia's bouncy balls back toward her. "Here you go, Patricia...but you didn't have to react that way. I loved your ball act, nonetheless."

The ball-walking performer breathed a sigh. "Thanks, but this isn't the first time this happened. Remember, I was born with the power of electricity; I used to rub my socks against the carpet to rejuvenate myself. I could attract and push certain objects away from me at will. My parents were so proud...then THEY came for me..." Tears built up in her eyes once again.

* * *

After paying for the toys the Lower Birth kids wanted, the whole group left the toy store and headed for Keyla's Bowling Kingdom. Patricia calmed down and did feel very bad about electrocuting others when she worked for Valerie, but what she told the others about her past next made her actions seem justified.

"Who are the THEY in your story?" questioned Keyla.

"They...People...Monsters...Humans, who are so evil, they are not Human to me...They shunned us from society because we are different, they isolated us in fear, they separated us from our families as though we were infectious, they chased us from our hometowns as though we carried the plague. Abusing, stealing, lying, and killing to survive: What kind of life is that for a child? Now do you see why we do not trust so easily? Even though Valerie was the ringmaster and leader of the Lower Birth, she couldn't stop people from throwing things at us during the show!"

"That's pretty sad," said Phoebe. "You and your friends deserve better."

"Here, this'll help you feel good, at least I think so..." 9-Volt gave Patricia one of her bouncy balls to hug, while the music within the bowling alley switched over to an opening theme song Keyla recognized all too well.

[Friendship BGM: Under the Sign of Winx (Winx Club)]

"Sorry, I don't randomly hug people or things to feel better. Hugs and kisses are one thing, but you can't replace what you lost in the past, particularly your family like the ones we had. Still, just telling my story once in a while makes me feel better. Thanks!" She gave him a small hug and began admiring the shiny bowling balls on the racks. "I've never seen balls like these before. Then again, I've never been bowling either. I can't remember the last time I did something just for the fun of it."

"Aww, I'll teach you how to bowl, if that's okay. From what Mona taught me - and I really look up to her as if she _were_ my big sister ever since she saved me - let's start by using the lightest ball weight possible, since we're both kids. Well, you are about 8 years old while I'm 9, but still." 9-Volt picked out a bowling ball that weighed 6 lbs. "All the bowling balls are different from your bouncy balls, since they're a bit heavy; they hardly bounce...and not to mention each having three finger holes up front. In short, don't get too carried away because you love balls."

"Born with the ability to harness the attractive power of electricity, balls were my favorite and only toys."

9-Volt giggled happily. "I guess there's an old saying: balls are a young girl's best friend, even bouncy balls and bowling balls alike...or something like that."

"Actually, I think the saying is, 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend'. I know dogs are man's best friend, and I've always wanted a puppy..."

"So have I," added Pit. "In fact, Phosphora and I happened to adopt one for ourselves while we were shopping at a mall in Skyworld one time. Poor fellow was abandoned, so we bought all kinds of stuff at a pet store to take care of him..."

"Looks like it's my cue then," Phosphora blurted to herself, prior to getting out a microphone. "Now introducing for the Freakshow children, the Vampire Princess who's gonna help 9-Volt teach Patricia how to bowl...heeere's Keyla, the Bowling Princess!"

Bright lights shone on Keyla as she used her magic to change into her white angel dress. Patricia could hear her Freakshow friends cheering for her and blushed slightly. Keyla, Phoebe and 9-Volt helped Patricia focus and direct her energy into hitting the pins. Despite never bowling before, Patricia was a natural! John, Daniel, Maya, Ann &amp; Anne, Violet, Claudia, Paul, Corey &amp; Austin, Jill, Page, Vanessa, and even Jaclyn clapped, cheered, whistled, and hollered whenever Patricia got a strike!

"YAY, PATRICIA!" cheered 9-Volt, giving Patricia a high-five and a big hug.

"Wow! Thanks, 9-Volt, Phoebe, Keyla. This is...nice."

As soon as Patricia got the hang of things, regardless of whoever bowled the highest score today, everyone was riding back to the Lower Birth circus with Steven's family. Valerie, Valyn, and Steven were the only ones there now and the circus was closed down. Valyn's lions, tigers, bears, elephants, and other wild animals roamed the place. "I'm happy you had fun with me and my friends, Patricia. Say, wanna show me your act with your bouncy balls one last time before we part ways for the day? We're safe from the booing now."

"Okay," smiled Patricia, jumping onto her big pink ball again. "I am Patricia, Mistress of Bouncing Balls!" Again, she balanced on top of the ball and sparks of electricity emitted from her fingers. She used it to control the other balls to move near, far, and around her. Making the balls fly through mid-air marked the end of her act. When her new friends cheered for her and clapped their hands with glee, she blushed once more. "You know, come to think of it, the Freakshow was kidnapped by Valerie from the Home of Ms. Perivelle. I'll bring them back. The poor, old woman must be worried sick about them and I know they miss her. Ms. Perivelle's Home for Children looks like a haunted house, but it's actually nicer inside. It had always been shrouded in a semi-impenetrable mist to keep the ill-intentioned people out. You can't see it, until you are close enough to run aground, which is how most of those monsters, who try to invade there, die."

"I see..." said Pit in astonishment.

"Well, I guess it really is gonna be a while, if not a whole month, before you finally warm up to me," admitted 9-Volt with a sigh.

"Don't worry, 9-Volt, you're getting there," assured Patricia. "Being brave enough to walk up to me was the right thing to do, and by doing so...you gave my life back. Thanks again for understanding how I feel, and I'm sorry again for griping on you. To make it up to you, how about I become one of your guardian angels? I promise I'll learn what it takes to be a good person...and a good friend. If it also means repenting for my past sins by confessing to your two friends from this Skyworld place...I'll do it."

"Aw, of course you can be my guardian angel. My reason for walking up to you first was because I couldn't stand to see a young girl my age with an undying love for big bouncy balls, doing all those bad things..."

"I know what you mean, but like I said, you're getting there. Oh, and thank you everyone for coming. I wish you all a long, happy and healthy life." Then Patricia left with the Freakshow children, leading 9-Volt to wonder if perhaps she could have a place for her and her friends, or least a bouncy ball-themed castle he believed she'd often dream about. Keyla, on the other hand, looked down on the floor as though she had something else in mind...

[End BGM]

* * *

[Overworld BGM: Ahead on Our Way (Final Fantasy VII)]

"Well, the Freakshow kids and the rest of the Lower Birth Circus seem to be doing a lot better now."

"Ms. Perivelle must be really smart to turn around a bunch of killer kids like them."

The following week since their very first meeting with the Lower Birth, Pit and Phosphora exchanged words with each other upon meeting 9-Volt and Phoebe at his house after school was over for the day. Suddenly, their reunion was interrupted by sounds of explosions going off in his backyard, causing them to rush over. 5-Volt, however, assured them that Keyla and Patricia were just practicing their powers in a playful battle, not fighting. Both girls with supernatural abilities were fast, strong and very powerful! 9-Volt thought at first that something went wrong with Keyla's werewolf transformation like it did one time during his summer vacation in Roseland, given the werewolf genes she had in her.

"Werewolf genes, huh?" asked Patricia.

"I don't wanna talk about it..." mumbled a glum Keyla.

"Nah, I just think it's cool. I know what it's like to be mistreated because you're different, especially how it can hurt when you try to keep a positive outlook on life. It can be lonely out there..."

"Hi, Patricia," greeted 9-Volt. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just memories...but to be fair, the Freakshow wasn't evil. They were just tricked into joining the Lower Birth by Valerie. You gave them the chance to escape. To go back to the one who loved them most..."

"Miss Perivelle?" predicted 9-Volt.

"Exactly. By the way, don't worry about what happened at the circus last week, I'm just trying to forget. Everyone's trying to forget..."

"I'm just glad you're on the right track to recovery so far," Keyla told Patricia.

"What other balls do you like?" asked Phoebe.

"I like ALL kinds of balls: basketballs, baseballs, footballs, golf balls, racquetballs, soccer balls, tennis balls, volleyballs and most recently, bowling balls!...Whew, now I'm starting to sound just like Jaclyn."

"It's okay, Patricia. She sure is peppy and upbeat for someone who can talk super-fast."

"True enough, Phoebe. Oh yeah, I wanted to show you guys this." Patricia borrowed Keyla's bowling ball, which was black with purple swirly designs, named Striker. Next up, she carefully placed it on top of her head and balanced it there with ease. "Being the Mistress of Bouncing Balls myself, I could already balance balls on my head. Keyla just taught me to consider how much different balls weigh." She placed it on the ground afterwards and watched Keyla balance Patricia's black bouncy ball in return. Apparently she must have taught the little vampire the basics of ball-walking and balance prior to sparring with one another. Keyla alternated between balancing it on her head and catching it with the tip of her nose to do so like a pinniped, or commonly a seal.

"I'm happy to see you're both coming into good terms with each other as my guardian angels," said 9-Volt. "In fact, I dreamed that you, Patricia, were wearing a blue angel dress while Keyla donned her white one. You were teaching us the basics of ball-walking and balance, starting off by showing us how to stack the balls on top of each other. Oh, and Phoebe was with us too; I'm not one to leave her out of my dreams."

"Weird...I always thought I'd to to hell for all those criminal acts I did. Oh well, since you put it that way, heaven is better than hell...And that's very sweet of you to dream about me being an angel and teaching you all about balancing the bouncy balls."

"That's good to hear. Anyway, whatever happens, I don't want you and Keyla to get jealous of each other. You're both my guardian angels just like Pit, Phosphora, Yuffie, Ami the pink-haired half of Puffy AmiYumi, Cute Pink who just so happens to be Cheerful White's best friend from planet Bomber, even my other friend Cherry. She's one of the Chi Princesses from the distant Chi World, and I'm sure Pit and Phosphora must have told you and your friends about that too."

"Yeah, they did," chirped Patricia. "And I'm not jealous. Keyla?"

Keyla blushed. "...Okay, I WAS jealous, but I'll stop."

"Valerie used to say 'jealousy is an ugly thing', so rather than get jealous of others we got even by taking away what we didn't have, even if it meant killing. Ms. Perivelle, however, taught us that it's normal for humans to feel jealousy, but don't act on it."

9-Volt nodded in amazement. "I see, and...well, it doesn't matter if Keyla's a very talented bowler for a 5-year-old Vampire Princess, or if you've got lots and lots of big bouncy balls. Being my guardian angels isn't about being the most popular and powerful or getting all the attention as opposed to one another. It's all about friendship, loving and caring."

"Yeah. I mean, look at me and Pit," said Phosphora. "I harness the power of electricity and light, but it doesn't matter if I don't have angel wings like Pit does. We all love each other just the same."

"Exactly. Oh, I meant to ask you something, Patricia, since Keyla already has a fantasy kingdom of her own - in the form of a bowling alley the vampires built for us, I mean. If you were to have your own fantasy kingdom, what would its theme be?"

"Isn't it obvious? Balls, of course. I would have it look like a castle, colored blue, and have rooms for all my friends."

"That's what I thought, just like in the dream I was talking about. Sounds like a fun place for us to hang out." 9-Volt happily picked up one of Patricia's bouncy balls and tried to balance it with his head, only for it to roll off and bounce on the ground. "Oops! Silly me..."

Patricia laughed, "It's not that simple, 9-Volt. A Balancing Act takes years of practice and I have help from my electricity, of course. Watch, I'm still learning this trick." She used her power to knock all her balls into the air at the same time, and balanced them on her head, one on top of another. However, the pile was slightly wavering, and soon they fell to the ground. Keyla gasped and dashed around, picking up the balls. Fortunately, 9-Volt and Phoebe pitched in to help out, and afterwards they spent the next few hours drawing a picture of what Patricia's fantasy kingdom would look like: tall as a skyscraper with walls in a bolt-of-lightning shape, connecting the 6 towers, and each tower was topped with a different colored ball-shaped dome. In other words, a cathedral it resembled, consisting of glass window depicting different types of electricity and tall spires topped with large bouncy balls. To top it off, they added a drawing of Patricia in a princess dress standing next to 9-Volt, both holding a bunch of balloons together which perfectly resembled her bouncy balls.

"Aww...c'mere, 9-Volt." With happy tears in her eyes, she gave him a big warm hug, and planted a kiss on his cheek. This time, it was genuine to his relief. "That's the sweetest thing anybody could ever do for me. I wish my parents were here to see this..."

"I know, your trust in others was deeply damaged as much as everyone else's, ever since your families were burned to death," said Phoebe. "Well, at least things are finally starting to look up. I think 9-Volt and I overheard you and your friends got accepted in Diamond City's school system - boys and girls."

"Yup, we all enrolled in it with Ms. Perivelle's help, except for Valerie, Valyn and Steven...they are paranoid."

"That stinks," said Pit. "So, what do you think we should call this castle?"

"How about...Electric Ball Castle?" suggested Keyla.

"Sounds great!" agreed 9-Volt. "We can invite White, Pink, Kat and Ana over to tour the castle with us whenever it gets finished. Mona's usually at school or work in the daytime, but thankfully never too busy to look after me as though I were her little brother. Oh, and in case you're wondering, Keyla, she's not jealous of Yuffie and/or Phosphora at all just because she doesn't have any powers like they do. If she can resist all kinds of temptations to be jealous, so can you."

"That's good, and thanks, 9-Volt. I'm just getting used to Patricia, that's all, but so to prove I'm not jealous anymore, we'll call it Electric Ball Castle."

"You pinky-finger promise?"

Keyla blushed and held the boy's pinky finger with her own. "I pinky-finger promise."

"If the Knights of the Round Table could meet as equals, so can we guardian angels," said Phosphora. "Even if Pit and I are undoubtedly immortal unlike the others."

"Absolutely no jealousy whatsoever," Pit told his girlfriend, "just the way I like it! Wish I could remember the last time we saw them and King Arthur...Then again, it's been countless centuries."

"So it's all settled then," announced Phoebe, "Electric Ball Castle is what we'll call it, and like 9-Volt said, we can invite our friends as soon as it's finished. I dunno about Ami, though; last I checked she's out playing a few concerts with Yumi while Aaron, Bill and Lance are visiting Arctic Bomber's apartment in Oakland, CA to keep her in check. I did hear Penny Crygor's helping Blaze Bomber bring in the customers to Diamond Arcade World, which they built about...two weeks ago, I think."

"Electric Ball Castle..." Patricia thought momentarily. "I love it! Bouncy balls in the air like balloons...I think I know just the trick. Watch." Getting out her five balls once again, she stacked them on top with her electricity and made them float in the air, followed by "attaching" them to the "strings" obviously made out of electricity to give the illusion that her bouncy balls are like balloons. "Don't worry about the electricity, it won't hurt you. I've had this power since I was born and I've learned to control it."

"Same here," said Phosphora. "It's always been nice to me, like a harmless kitten."

"That's nice. Okay, here's one for you...and one for you..." After handing out her "balloons" to her friends, they walked around for a bit whilst feeling a bit ticklish from the electrical "strings." "And there we have it! Now, all that's left is to show our picture to the Lower Birth and we can all get started building it together; this time by doing legitimate acts." 9-Volt and his friends eventually gave the balls back to Patricia, whereupon she returned them to normal.

* * *

Two weeks pass since they imagined the possibility of Patricia's Electric Ball Castle...

Near the end of October, the Freakshow kids finished constructing the aforementioned castle with the help of Pit and Phosphora. It was as exactly shown in the picture: tall as a skyscraper with walls in a bolt-of-lightning shape, connecting the 6 towers, each being topped with a different colored ball-shaped dome. 9-Volt then realized he had finally done what seemed impossible: help Patricia turn good once again and fulfill her life-long dream of living in a castle based on her all-time favorite toy. Throughout the construction he and Keyla had been attending their ball-balancing lessons with Patricia as their teacher/mentor, all the while Phoebe simply watched onwards. She wasn't as interested as 9-Volt and Keyla were in learning about balancing the bouncy balls, but she observed the lessons regardless because she's his best friend. Maybe it's because balance wasn't exactly her strong point, but then again she believed it wouldn't hurt to learn all about it someday...perhaps next month or so. Mona, on the other hand, was curious enough to see what her "little brother" had been learning from Patricia within the past two weeks, and sat next to Phoebe, Pit, Phosphora and Jaclyn in the form of a small audience.

"Just like we practiced every other day," instructed Patricia. "It's all about balance..."

"Balancebalanceasbestasyoucan, youcandoitbecauseyou'rethebest! (Balance balance as best as you can, you can do it because you're the best!)" cheered Jaclyn, who also watched the lessons from time to time.

"Easy there, Jac. They're just taking it slow, that's all." She looked over to 9-Volt, who was keeping still for as long as he could despite wavering on his feet. "You're doing great, 9-Volt! Don't be scared; just think peacefully."

Keyla's hand-eye coordination enabled her to keep real still like a statue, prior to walking around Patricia's bouncy ball-themed bedroom on top of a purple ball inside the newly-built castle. She also watched 9-Volt and Patricia keeping still on the yellow and blue balls with the aid of electricity. "9-Volt and Patricia: the Best Bouncing Ball Buddies," she stated jokingly.

"You could give Valerie a run for her money coming up with names like that," giggled Patricia. "Better yet, how about all four of us? You, me, 9-Volt and Phoebe will be the Best Bouncing Ball Buddies for as long as we live. Since you helped me reform myself and confess for my past sins, I hereby make it official that we will share all of my big bouncy balls with each other out of love, care, respect and friendship." Before long, she and 9-Volt jumped off the balls along with Keyla, then the Mistress of Bouncing Balls walked into her closet to pull out an angel-white bouncy ball, also big like all the other ones in accordance to her preferences.

"Wow! It looks very beautiful just like you, Princess Patricia!" beamed 9-Volt.

The girl blushed at the boy's remark with a slight giggle and pretended to curtsy. "Why thank you, young Prince 9-Volt. May I present to you and my two fellow Bouncing Ball Buddies the ball I have always treasured the most amongst all the others: Heaven's Light!" Then she stopped smiling for a moment to explain why she considered it as such. "During our stay at Ms. Perivelle's home, she gave me Heaven's Light as a memento of my first meeting with her...Yes, that was during the time we were all forced to commit crimes just to survive in this world. Despite our past misdeeds, she believed I had the potential to repent and turn myself around, and had since instructed me to hold Heaven's Light dear to my heart, for it was no ordinary child's toy, much less a big bouncy ball. All she ever told me was that it was rumored to possess angel-like powers which could only be unlocked when two young girls with different powers hold it simultaneously at the right moment in life, while accompanied by a pure-hearted little boy whom they willingly choose to befriend and protect. I never understood what those words meant, but I took the ball with me regardless."

"Do you think maybe Ms. Perivelle was somehow referring to...us?" wondered Keyla. "You, me...and 9-Volt?"

"I dunno. I guess we just take good care of it together until the magic happens. Keyla, I'd like you to hold onto Heaven's Light since your angel dress is white. It's very pure and indestructible unlike all the other bouncy balls, as in only good people can touch it, obvious as it sounds...and yet, I was able to do so without its magic rejecting my touch, even when I did commit crimes with the other Freakshow kids..."

"Maybe because it sensed there still existed a bit of good in you at the time...?"

"Maybe so. Oh, and 9-Volt?"

"What is it, Patricia?" asked the Nintendo boy.

"I know our first meeting wasn't on friendly terms, but I'm gonna make a promise to you here and now that we'll all keep to the very end: no matter what happens, I won't ever take out my bad past on you or your friends again." She hugged and kissed him affectionately, and both kids invited Phoebe and Keyla over to turn the embrace into a group hug; this time Keyla kept her word to never again be jealous of Patricia over 9-Volt.

Then they gingerly let go of their group hug for the ball-walking performer to finish her promise. "As your merciful Bouncing Ball Buddy, I do solemnly swear on behalf of your mom that I'll always protect you, no matter what."

"And may we balance and bounce in peace..." the Best Bouncing Ball Buddies uttered at the same time before proceeding to play with Patricia's stash of bouncy balls together. Pit, Phosphora, Mona and Jaclyn joined in on the fun for the next five minutes until the whole group tired out and stopped to take a short nap prior to dinnertime. As Patricia looked through the open window with 9-Volt sitting next to her, she imagined her parents watching over her, and nodded righteously in return.

_Mom, dad...wherever you may be right now, I'm gonna make you proud by doing what my friends and I should have done years ago: to redeem ourselves by using our powers for good. No more scares. Safer acts and playful Halloween themes. Different songs. Even allow adults into our Lower Birth circus...And most of all, use my electricity and big bouncy balls to protect 9-Volt as his guardian angel._

THE END

(Ending Credits)  
9-Volt - TARA STRONG  
Keyla - TRACEY HOYT  
Patricia - AMY BIRNBAUM  
Phoebe - HYNDEN WALCH  
Pit - ANTONY DEL RIO  
Phosphora - KARI WAHLGREN  
Jaclyn - SANDY FOX  
John - CAM CLARKE  
Maya - ANDREA LIBMAN

[End Credits]  
[End BGM]

* * *

And there you have it, folks! Now you know how 9-Volt came to be the best of pals with Keyla and Patricia as seen in one of my GJA stories, notably #1: Video Game Boss Insanity. Review away to your heart's content if you like.


End file.
